DANDONG, Liaoning - A detailed plan is expected to come out at the end of the year for the joint development of a trade zone in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) along the border, a senior official in the border city of Dandong told China Daily on Tuesday.

An economic zone on the Chinese side of the border has been established to provide support to the zone in the DPRK, and all work is progressing smoothly, Dai Yulin, Party secretary of Dandong, said.

The latest development was announced as DPRK Prime Minister Choe Yong-rim met President Hu Jintao in Beijing on the second day of his five-day visit to China.

China's first ATM dispensing gold bars and coins was switched on this weekend and then swiftly switched back off again.The country's first gold ATM is officially put into use in Beijing's Wangfujing Street on Sunday. It was shut down again the same day due to technical problems. The machine dispenses gold bars and coins and is operated by Gongmei Gold Trading.

Last summer, when a Japanese friend came for a visit, we had a long discussion about Japan. I related my impression of the country and what I see as its merits and shortcomings. But my main argument was that Japan needs to put in more effort in strategic planning.

WASHINGTON - A China-United States partnership in the aviation industry could be the best way to get more badly needed manufacturing jobs back to the US and provide China with the best aviation services.

BEIJING - China encouraged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to follow a development path that best suits its situation and vowed to provide whatever help it was capable of, as Premier Wen Jiabao welcomed his Pyongyang counterpart on Monday at the start of a five-day visit.

BEIJING, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Sales of second-hand homes in Beijing slumped to a three-year low in the first 19 days of September, China National Radio reported Sunday.

The contract sales of existing homes stood at 4,233 units from September 1 to 19, the report said, citing figures from the Beijing's real estate transaction management website. In Beijing's real-estate circles, September is known as the golden month as typically many houses are sold during it.

The number represented a drop of 73.4 percent from the same period of last year and was less than one-fourth of the transaction volume in the same period of 2009, according to the report.

WASHINGTON - A China-United States partnership in the aviation industry could be the best way to get more badly needed manufacturing jobs back to the US and provide China with the best aviation services.

That's the hope of hundreds of Chinese and US aviation industry insiders, who are in Washington for the three-day US-China Aviation Summit.

TIANJIN - The Chinese government will invest 2 trillion yuan ($313 billion) in the area of green economy and low-carbon development in the next five years, cutting 16 percent of per-unit GDP energy consumption compared to 2010, a senior official from China's top economic planner said on Saturday.

The China Daily website is inviting foreign readers to share their China stories with our worldwide audience. Please send your story with your contact information to mychinastory@chinadaily.com.cn. Photos of the author or the story are also welcome.

The EU's plan to force global flights to take part in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) trespasses on the sovereignty of other countries and will "have an extremely negative impact on the international aviation industry," said China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) in a joint statement with Russia's Transport Ministry.

According to the EU plan, as of January 2012, airlines flying to or from the bloc will have to buy permits from the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for 15 percent of the carbon emissions they generate, with large fines for noncompliance.

The joint statement said any solution must be based on agreement and mutual benefit and should be aimed at the sustainable development of the global aviation industry.

KUWAIT CITY, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mohammad Al-Busairi said Sunday that the China-Kuwait joint oil refinery would help promote cooperation between the two countries in the oil sector.

LONDON, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Sunday Telegraph on September 25 published a signed article written by Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo. The following is the full text:

The Chinese government recently released a White Paper titled China's Peaceful Development, in which it declared to the world that peaceful development is a strategic choice China has made.

It will lead China to modernisation and prosperity, and because of this China will make a greater contribution to world civilisation and progress.

China will work together with other countries to build a harmonious world of durable peace and common prosperity. People may ask: should the world have confidence in China's sincerity to follow the path of peaceful development? How should the international community respond?

CHANGCHUN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China is seeking to push forward the establishment of a free trade area among Northeast Asian countries in order to further boost the economic and trade exchanges in the region, a senior political advisor said Wednesday.

"All countries in Northeast Asia should make efforts in building a regional cooperative framework and exploring the construction of a free trade area under the backdrop of global and regional economic integration," said Bai Lichen, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Bai made the remarks at the ongoing 7th China Jilin Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo in Jilin's capital city Changchun.

A subway train in Shanghai rammed into another on Tuesday, injuring 260 people. Reportedly due to a signaling fault, the tragedy resembles the bullet train collision on July 23. Avoiding signaling mistakes is not impossible, therefore these frequent accidents in China apparently show flaws in the signaling system, a system which governs people's lives.

The grand project of building a 235-kilometer highway in Gansu Province, which began in 2007 at a cost of 8 billion yuan ($1.3 billion), was finally finished in May. However, potholes and cracks soon appeared. After only three months, the whole road was closed for a thorough overhaul.

It remains unknown if the scandal involved severe corruption, or was caused by hasty construction. But it is a black spot on China's modernization record.

The entire highway's asphalt surface, as thick as 15 centimeters, is now being removed and repaved. This is one of the most stupid mistakes in quality control.

New York, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese scientist was presented a prestigious U.S. award on Friday for the discovery of artemisinin, a drug therapy for malaria that has saved millions of lives across the globe, especially in the developing world.

"Love U, Teresa" is a Broadway-style musical play commemorates late Taiwan singer Teresa Teng (1953-1995). The musical is about Teng in heaven helping young musician Zhou Mengjun to pursue her dream with her music. The musical uses the simple values of love and loyalty celebrated in Teng’s songs. More than 30 of Teng’s greatest hits sung by two actresses who play Teng, including “I Only Care About You,” “The Long Road of Life” and “The Moon Represents My Heart.” The musical made its debut in Hong Kong in 2010 and was well-received. Many people said they could not believe the two singers/actresses looked so much like Teng.

Asia Today: A new study suggests that the impact of trading with China could be worse for the U.S. economy than previously thought; Australia is seeing a reversal in the rise and rise of its currency, while China continues to guide the yuan higher.

BEIJING—Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. said it could raise up to $11 billion from debt markets over the next nine months, in the latest effort by a major Chinese bank to replenish capital amid widening concerns about potential bad loans.

BEIJING—China's central bank set the yuan's official guidepost at a new high Monday even as global investors continued to push the currency lower, suggesting that Beijing will continue to let the Chinese currency strengthen despite global economic jitters.

PEORIA, Ill.—Caterpillar Inc. remains confident about prospects for China's economy over the next few years despite a recent slowing as authorities there fight inflation, Richard Lavin, a group president of the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, said in an interview.

Caixin Century, one of China’s leading economics and finance publications, is displeased with China’s foreign investment-bank economists. In a feature article in its latest edition, the magazine takes a sideswipe at “colorless” economists with few independent views and limited market impact.

The Chinese Constitution, like that of many other nations, proclaims the rights of citizens, but in practice does not support those rights: Unlike many other constitutions, the Chinese version can’t be used as the basis for a legal challenge of acts that violate a citizen’s rights.

That was the message delivered by a number of Chinese officials during meetings at the International Monetary Fund, where China was widely seen as an answer to the euro zone's problems, either as a purchaser of European debt or as a country that could further goose its economic growth rate.

“The war for global jobs is like World War II: a war for all the marbles. The global war for jobs determines the leader of the free world. If the United States allows China or any country or region to out-enterprise, out-job-create, out-grow its G.D.P., everything changes. This is America’s next war for everything.”

Land developer Yunnan Urban Investment is sinking in an unreliable sea of government policy change

Two years ago, stock watchers predicted profits would skyrocket past 10 billion yuan for Yunnan Urban Investment Real Estate Co. The predictions pushed the government-backed developer's stock price to a high of 34.20 yuan at the end of 2009.

This past summer holiday, I finally read a 2006 book in Chinese written by the grand, old man of Chinese cultural linguistics, Professor Ji Xianlin (1911-2009). The title of his book crystallizes his view that culture and civilization are like a river that flows east for 30 years and then west for the next 30.

The 400-year-old Chengqi clan home in Fujian Province's Yongding County is known as the "king of earthen Hakka buildings." Known locally as ‘tulou,’ it received World Cultural Heritage status from the United Nation’s World Heritage Centre in 2008.

Bangladesh and other South and Southeast Asian countries are increasingly attractive alternatives for international companies seeking a lower-cost base than China, where rising labor costs and an aging workforce are taking their toll.

A tanker carrying ethylene - essential to innumerable industrial processes and products - sailed directly from mainland China to Taiwan this month, a journey that could start a transformation of Taiwan's petrochemical industry - even if Iran stays out of the picture.

China reacts with such fury to the chronic issue of United States arms sales to Taiwan, reawakened by the near US$6 billion upgrade for F-16C/D fighters, as it views the US as deliberately forming barriers to a "Great Unification". Though cross-strait ties are ever more cordial, Washington would gladly sabotage them to ensure the strategic success of its "return to Asia".

Set to accelerate the Asia-Pacific arms race, the F-16 deal includes advanced missiles, smart bombs and radar. That package doesn't phase the People's Liberation Army across the strait, however. Not only does it offer a chance to study US military technology - by spying on Taiwan - it also gives the generals the perfect reason to demand that Beijing speed up modernization of the PLA.

New Thinking about the Taiwan Issue: Theoretical insights into its origins, dynamics, and prospects (Politics in Asia)

By Jean-Marc F. Blanchard (Editor), Dennis V. Hickey (Editor)

The "Taiwan question" has long been considered one of the most complicated and explosive issues in global politics. In recent years, however, relations between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland have improved substantially to the surprise of many. In this ground-breaking collection, distinguished contributors from the US, Asia, and Europe seek to go beyond the standard "recitation of facts" that often characterizes studies focusing on the Beijing-Taipei dyad. Rather, they employ a variety of theories as well as both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to analyze the ebbs and flows of the Taiwan issue. Their discussions clearly illuminate why there is a "Taiwan Problem," why conflict did not escalate to war between 2000 and 2008, and why cross-Strait relations improved after 2008. The book further reveals the limits of realism as a device to gain traction into the Taiwan issue, demonstrates the importance of taking into account domestic political variables, and shows how theory can be used to advance the cause of better China-Taiwan relations and to analyze the potential for future conflict over Taiwan.

New Thinking about the Taiwan Issue is essential reading not only for students, scholars and practitioners with an interest in studying relations across the Taiwan Strait, but also for any reader interested in economics, international relations, comparative politics or political theory.

THE ROVING EYE

An extreme traveler, Pepe's nose for news has taken him to all parts of the Pepe Escobar globe. He was in Afghanistan and interviewed the military leader of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Masoud, a couple of weeks before his assassination